Bali

Island of The God

Bali, the magical island of the gods, lives up to and beyond its reputation. Just 153 km (95 mi) wide and 112 km (69 mi) long, it is small enough to be driven around within a day. This is Indonesia's Hindu island, though like the other islands, animism exists beneath the surface, where art and beauty reign supreme. Three sacred volcanoes dominate the range straddling the north and east, providing bounteous soil - local people say that if you put a bare stick in the earth, it will take root.



When Java's Islamic empire arose in the 16th century, the vanquished Hindus fled to Bali, reinforcing its culture but making an enemy. Over time Bali has been invaded by Java, Lombok, the Netherlands and Japan. In the 1960s thousands died when Mount Agung erupted, and 100,000 more were killed in retaliation for an unsuccessful communist coup against the goverment in Java. In 2002 and 2005, terrorist bombs killed and injured hundreds of both tourists and locals, but despite these tragedies Bali always recovers.

Beauty touches every aspect of daily life. The island is bursting with artists, wood carvers, musicians and dancers, with Ubud, in central Bali, the artistic heartland, having been home to many European artists since the 1920s. Tourism took off in the 1970s, but is contained in particular areas, leaving much of the island undisturbed. Here you can see classic scenes of brilliant green, terraced rice paddies, stone temples intricately carved with fabulous creatures, and gamelan orchestras accompanying gorgeously costumed dancers performing the Ramayana in the moonlight.

You can climb volcanoes, swim with dolphins, walk along near empty beaches, admire exquisite offerings to the gods and watch colourful religious processions. Currently tourism is down, but Bali and its people are enchanting and completely irresistible.

Balinese and Bahasa Indonesia are the most widely spoken languages in Bali, and most Indonesians, the vast majority of Balinese people are bilingual or trilingual. There are several indigenous Balinese languages, but most Balinese can also use the most widely spoken option: modern common Balinese. The usage of different Balinese languages was traditionally determined by the Balinese caste system and by clan membership, but this tradition is diminishing.

English is a common third language (and the primary foreign language) of many Balinese, owing to the requirements of the tourism industry.

Secrets of Bali, Fresh Light on the Morning of the World, Jonathan Copeland in consultation with Ni Wayan Murni, Gateway Books International, 2008.

Komodo

Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. The island has a surface area of 390 km² and over 2000 inhabitants. The inhabitants of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from Sulawesi. The population are primarily adherents of Islam but there are also Christian and Hindu minorities.

Part of the Lesser Sunda chain and lying between the neighbouring islands of Sumbawa to the west and Flores to the east, Komodo is one of the many islands which make up the Republic of Indonesia. The inhabitants of this barren volcanic land are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed themselves with the Bugis from nearby Sulawesi.

However, the island is most famous not for its heritage of convicts, but for the unique fauna which inhabit it. The Komodo dragon, the world's largest living lizard, takes its name from the island. A type of monitor lizard, the dragon inhabits Komodo and some of the smaller surrounding islands, attracting thousands of tourists every year.

The lizards are active during the morning and late afternoon, but burrow into dry stream beds during the heat of the day to keep cool. Guided tours take visitors to see the lizards and this is a good bet if you want to guarantee spotting one. They can grow up to 3m (10 ft) in length and despite their short legs, they can run as fast as a dog.

Visitors are advised not to wear red and to keep an eye out for their fottprints while visiting the island as they can bite. They can also swim from island to island so even the sea is not necessarily a safe place.


Komodo dragons were only discovered by Western scientists in 1910 when a Dutch officer, Van Steyn van Hensbroek, heard rumours of giant crocodiles and went to investigate. Today their range has contracted due to human activities, and they are listed as vulnerable by the World Conservation Union.


The Komodo National Park was set up in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, and the area is also now on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The national park includes the three large islands of Komodo, Rinca and Padar, as well as numerous smaller ones.

Later it was dedicated to protecting other species as the three islands have a high marine biodiversity, including whale sharks, ocean sunfish, manta rays, eagle rays, pygmy seahorses, false pipefish, clown frogfish, nudibranchs, blue-ringed octopus, sponges, tunicates, and coral. The coral reefs, seamounts, seagrass beds and mangroves make the islands a popular place for diving.

In the wild, an adult Komodo dragon usually weighs around 70 kilograms (150 lb), although captive specimens often weigh more. The largest verified wild specimen was 3.13 metres (10.3 ft) long and weighed 166 kilograms (370 lb), including undigested food.

The Komodo dragon has a tail as long as its body, as well as about 60 frequently-replaced serrated teeth that can measure up to 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in length. Its saliva is frequently blood-tinged, because its teeth are almost completely covered by gingival tissue that is naturally lacerated during feeding. This creates an ideal culture for the virulent bacteria that live in its mouth. It also has a long, yellow, deeply-forked tongue.

Young Komodo dragons spend much of their first few years in trees, where they are relatively safe from predators, including cannibalistic adults, who make juvenile dragons 10% of their diet. According to David Attenborough, the habit of cannibalism may be advantageous in sustaining the large size of adults, as medium-sized prey on the islands is rare.

When the young must approach a kill, they roll around in fecal matter and rest in the intestines of eviscerated animals to deter these hungry adults. Komodo dragons take about three to five years to mature, and may live for up to 50 years.